Episode 87 - Pinball is Supposed to be HARD!
Podcast
Wedgehead Pinball Podcast
58 min
Summary
Pinball should be hard: difficulty creates engagement, satisfaction, and replay value.
Wedgehead Pinball Podcast explores the philosophy of difficulty in pinball, arguing that hard games are more rewarding and engaging than easy, long-playing games. Hosts trace pinball's evolution from 1940s nail games through the modern era, showing how game times have progressively lengthened as the market shifted from location operators to home collectors. They contend that modern pinball's trend toward complex rule sets, extended play times, and generous ball saves has created 'runaway games' that lack the challenge and satisfaction of harder machines.
Highlights
- Gottlieb released Humpty Dumpty in 1947 as the first pinball machine with flippers (six of them, reverse orientation)
- Steve Kordek is credited with introducing facing flippers at the bottom of the playfield, which became the standard layout
- Stern sells approximately 70% of their games to the home market; boutique manufacturers (JJP, Spooky) likely sell 90%+ to home collectors
- Modern Stern games average approximately four minutes of play time based on operator audits
- Boutique games (especially Jersey Jack) play significantly longer than Stern games, sometimes 10+ times longer
- Hard games receive initially negative player reactions at shows because modern players lack experience with genuinely difficult pinball
- Chicago Gaming's throwback games (Pulp Fiction) successfully filled a niche for shorter, harder games
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